Review: 1. Cat out of Hell by Lynne Truss

So here it is my first review of my new blog. I hope you enjoy. The picture below is of the book next to my cat Pantalaimon or Pan for short. I’m sorry but he is rather rude and refused to face the camera.

Cat out of hell by Lynne Truss

About the author

Lynne Truss born in 1955, Surrey England is the renowned author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves but is also a columnist, broadcaster and comedy radio dramatist. She was a originally a cat lover but made the unusual switch to dogs recently. Cat out of Hell is her first novel in more than ten years.

Blurb on the book

A dead librarian, a charismatic cat and a mystery involving the Devil himself. If you’ve ever been suspicious of that evil glint in your cat’s eye, this book might just confirm all your worst fears…

Review

After catching a rather nasty cold, I found myself unable to work and either sleeping or reading. So yesterday I read this book and I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it.

I remember buying this book and I must admit I bought it because of the title and cover (I know so shallow)! In my defence my husband and myself have two cats, one of which is black, like the cat on the cover, so inevitably I had to buy the book.

I really enjoyed the book hence why I couldn’t put it down, however it didn’t answer all the questions that I wanted answering and that is why it only got three stars. To be honest the ending really wound me up and I just ended up frustrated with the outcome.

The characters were fantastic and very well written, if a little stereotypical and by stereotypical I mean the character Wiggy. Alec, I found adorable and pitiable and his commentaries in places were hilarious, especially his obsession with the air freshener and sausage sandwich.

Roger and the Captain were fascinating and I really wanted to learn more about their past but sadly that was not going to happen. This novel left me with so many questions, what happened to the kittens? how old is the Captain? And many more! Also did Watson the dog really do that or was it a figment of Alec’s imagination?

The part I loved the most was how Truss uses cats normal behaviour that we take for granted and gives it a different meaning we would never have thought of. Why do cats purr? Why do cats knead our lap? Truss gives them a very different meaning.

This book definitely confirmed some of the worries I had about cats (I’m really not a cat person) and to be honest I don’t think I will ever trust my black cat again.